Mountain Keepers Festival is this weekend

From a press release:

July 5 & 6: Mountain Keepers Music Festival

About an hour south of Charleston, W.Va., Kayford Mountain is an island of green West Virginia in midst of a Mars-scape of massacred mountains. People from across the United States and beyond travel to Kayford Mountain to get a shocking first-hand look at mountaintop removal operations. Every year, folks also converge on Kayford Mountain for events that celebrate everyone's work for environmental justice. Join the celebration on Saturday, July 5th and Sunday, July 6th--come to the annual Mountain Keepers Music Festival, held at the Stanley Heirs Park on the mountain.

The free two-day event features local and regional musicians playing a variety of bluegrass, gospel, country and old-time music, as well as children's games, a pot-luck meal, free camping and a silent auction. Attendees are encouraged to bring a covered dish for a potluck

Photo: Larry Gibson steps over a crack in the ground he says was caused by blasting at nearby Princess Beverly mountaintop mine. Gibson is fighting to save the land his family has owned on Kayford Mountain for more than 100 years. The family land is surrounded by the coal mines. Herald-Dispatch file.